Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic H2 Production

Adhikari, Shiba P.; Hood, Zachary D.; Lachgar, Abdou

doi:10.1557/adv.2018.370

Title: Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic H₂ Production

Journal Article · 17 April 2018 · MRS Advances

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2018.370 · OSTI ID:1435211

Adhikari, Shiba P. ^[1]; Hood, Zachary D. ^[2]; Lachgar, Abdou ^[1]

Wake Forest Univ., Winston-Salem, NC (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES)
Wake Forest Univ., Winston-Salem, NC (United States). Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES); Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Semiconductor-based heterojunctions have been shown to be effective photocatalytic materials to overcome the drawbacks of low photocatalytic efficiency that results from a high rate of electron-hole recombination and narrow photo-response range. In this study, we report on the study of heterojunctions made from visible light active, graphitic carbon nitride, g-C₃N₄), and UV light active, strontium pyroniobate, Sr₂Nb₂O₇. Heterojunctions made from a combination of g-C₃N₄ and nitrogen-doped Sr₂Nb₂O₇ obtained at different temperatures were also studied to determine the effect of N doping. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by using photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)from water g under visible light irradiation. It was found that the photocatalytic activities of as prepared heterojunctions are significantly higher than that of individual components under similar conditions. Heterojunction formed from g-C₃N₄ and N-doped Sr₂Nb₂O₇ at 700^°C (CN/SNON-700) showed better performance than heterojunction made from g-C₃N₄ and Sr₂Nb₂O₇ (CN/SNO). Finally, a plausible mechanism for the heterojunction enhanced photocatalytic activity is proposed based on, relative band positions, and photoluminescence data.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; Wake Forest Univ. (United States); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; DGE-1650044

OSTI ID:: 1435211

Journal Information:: MRS Advances, Vol. 3, Issue 55; ISSN 2059-8521

Publisher:: Materials Research Society (MRS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (21)

Hollow Anatase TiO ₂ Single Crystals and Mesocrystals with Dominant {101} Facets for Improved Photocatalysis Activity and Tuned Reaction Preference Jiao, Wei; Wang, Lianzhou; Liu, Gang ACS Catalysis, Vol. 2, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1021/cs300229e	journal	July 2012
An Ag ₃ PO ₄ /nitridized Sr ₂ Nb ₂ O ₇ composite photocatalyst with adjustable band structures for efficient elimination of gaseous organic pollutants under visible light irradiation Guo, Jianjun; Zhou, Han; Ouyang, Shuxin Nanoscale, Vol. 6, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4NR00537F	journal	January 2014
Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode Fujishima, Akira; Honda, Kenichi Nature, Vol. 238, Issue 5358, p. 37-38 https://doi.org/10.1038/238037a0	journal	July 1972
Hierarchical architectures of bismuth molybdate nanosheets onto nickel titanate nanofibers: Facile synthesis and efficient photocatalytic removal of tetracycline hydrochloride Li, Shijie; Hu, Shiwei; Jiang, Wei Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 521 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2018.03.033	journal	July 2018
Synthesis of Ta ₃ N ₅ /Bi ₂ MoO ₆ core–shell fiber-shaped heterojunctions as efficient and easily recyclable photocatalysts Li, Shijie; Shen, Xiaofeng; Liu, Jianshe Environmental Science: Nano, Vol. 4, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EN00706F	journal	January 2017
A metal-free polymeric photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water under visible light Wang, Xinchen; Maeda, Kazuhiko; Thomas, Arne Nature Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2317	journal	November 2008
Semiconductor Composites: Strategies for Enhancing Charge Carrier Separation to Improve Photocatalytic Activity Marschall, Roland Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 24, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201303214	journal	December 2013
A review of metal oxynitrides for photocatalysis Ahmed, Manan; Xinxin, Guo Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, Vol. 3, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5QI00202H	journal	January 2016
Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides Asahi, R. Science, Vol. 293, Issue 5528 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1061051	journal	July 2001
An overview of semiconductor photocatalysis Mills, Andrew; Le Hunte, Stephen Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, Vol. 108, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1010-6030(97)00118-4	journal	July 1997
Visible-light-driven Bi ₂ O ₃ /WO ₃ composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity Adhikari, Shiba P.; Dean, Hunter; Hood, Zachary D. RSC Advances, Vol. 5, Issue 111 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA13579F	journal	January 2015
A review and recent developments in photocatalytic water-splitting using TiO2 for hydrogen production Ni, Meng; Leung, Michael K. H.; Leung, Dennis Y. C. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2005.01.009	journal	April 2007
Semiconductor heterojunction photocatalysts: design, construction, and photocatalytic performances Wang, Huanli; Zhang, Lisha; Chen, Zhigang Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 43, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00126E	journal	January 2014
g-C ₃ N ₄ -Based Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation Cao, Shaowen; Yu, Jiaguo The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1021/jz500546b	journal	June 2014
Photocatalytic water splitting using semiconductor particles: History and recent developments Maeda, Kazuhiko Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews, Vol. 12, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2011.07.001	journal	December 2011
Correlation of Photodegradation Efficiency with Surface Potential of Silver-TiO ₂ Nanocomposite Thin Films Kumar, Avesh; Patel, Arun S.; Mohanty, T. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 116, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp3060137	journal	September 2012
Facile synthesis of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles anchored on Bi 2 MoO 6 microflowers with improved visible light photocatalytic activity Li, Shijie; Hu, Shiwei; Zhang, Junlei Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 497 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.02.069	journal	July 2017
A Visible-Light-Active Heterojunction with Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation Adhikari, Shiba P.; Hood, Zachary D.; More, Karren L. ChemSusChem, Vol. 9, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201600424	journal	June 2016
Recent progress on photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting under visible light irradiation Abe, Ryu Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews, Vol. 11, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2011.02.003	journal	December 2010
Synthesis of n -type TaON microspheres decorated by p -type Ag 2 O with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity Li, Shijie; Hu, Shiwei; Jiang, Wei Molecular Catalysis, Vol. 435 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcat.2017.03.027	journal	July 2017
Heterogeneous Photocatalysis: Recent Advances and Applications Ibhadon, Alex; Fitzpatrick, Paul Catalysts, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/catal3010189	journal	March 2013